economy shrugged off hurricane sandy to create 146,000 new jobs, nearly double what forecasters had said, job creation for september and october was revised downward by a total of 49,000. another 350,000 people were so discouraged in november they simply stopped looking for work and left the labor force, which is why the unemployment rate dipped to 7.7%. >> raising taxes on small businesses is not going to help our economy and it's not going to help those seeking work. i came out the day after the election to put revenues on the table. take a step toward the president to try to resolve this. when he is going to take a step toward us? >> analysts say anxiety over the higher taxes from fiscal crisis is a reason that consumer confidence plunged in december. thompson reuters dropped to 74.5 in the consumer sentiment, lowest level since august. vice president countered that business leaders are telling him the economy will take off if there is a fiscal cliff deal. >> they have over $1 trillion out there to invest. if they think that the economy is going to move. >> he suggested some wiggle ro